1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a color printing system and more particularly to a system which is usable for accurate and reliable reproduction of images generated by computers and displayed on color monitors. The system of this invention produces prints which have an accurate visual match to original images produced on a color monitor screen. The system is easy to use and makes possible the use of calibration procedures which directly and quickly converge to an accurate calibration.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Various methods have heretofore been used or proposed for reproducing images of a type which are generated by an artist on a color monitor screen of a computer using "paint" programs and the like. One method which has been used involves the sending of a digital image to a color film recorder to produce a transparency which is then placed on a conventional color separation scanner for processing of color separation half-tone films for making lithographic printing plates. This type of operation is cumbersome and more importantly, does not reliably produce an accurate color reproduction.
There have also been a number of proposals for converting red, green and blue or "RGB" values to cyan, magenta, yellow and black or "CMYK" values, ostensibly appropriate for use with a computer system. However, the conversion methods as proposed in the prior art have been quite complicated and cumbersome and are such that it would appear to be very difficult to obtain reliable results in attempting to convert computer-generated or similar signals to signals appropriate for color print reproductions.